Clothes-drier.



PATENTED SEPT. 13, 1904.

T. M. ANDERSON.

CLOTHES DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1004.

NO MODEL.

Patented September 13, 1904.

NITED STATES PATENT FFI(3E.

THEODORE M. ANDERSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CLOTHES-DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 770,037, dated September 13, 1904.

- Application filed June 17, 1904. Serial No. 212,980. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE M. ANDER- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes- Driers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to portable clothesdriers, and has particular reference to the type of clothes-driers intended primarily for indoor use and adapted to be readily set up and taken down, being foldable into compact form for the purpose of storing the same when not in use.

The main objects of thisinvention are to provide improved construction for such clothes-driers, to provide means for increasing their range of adjustability, and to provide improved arrangement of the parts to facilitate the work of the operator in taking down the clothes-drier for the purpose of storing it. I accomplish these objects by the device shown in the accompanying drawings, in which 7 Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a clothes-drier constructed according to my invention, some of the arms for supporting the clothes being omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 2is a top plan of the movable head for supporting the arms, one of the arms being shown in its extended position and a second arm being shown in its folded position. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 8 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan of the lower end of the pole. Fig. 5 is a top plan of the bracket which supports the foot of the pole. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the device for fastening the cord which supports the movable head.

In the construction shown a vertically-disposed pole 1 is supported at its lower end by means of a pedestal or bracket 5, which is preferably secured to a side wall of the room near the floor, as indicated in Fig. 1. The bracket 5 is fastened. by means of screws at 6 and 7. The upper end of the pole4: is provided with a ferrule 8, which is rigidly secured to the end of the pole and externally threaded. An internally-threaded cap 9 is mounted on the member 8 and has an upper annular bearing-surface 10 for engaging the ceiling of the room. The bearing-surface 10 is preferably provided with spurs 11, adapted to enter the ceiling and prevent the turning of the cap 9 when the device is being adjusted into position, as will be hereinafter described.

The bottom of the pole 1 is provided with I an annularv depression 12, which is adapted to engage an annular ridge or projection 13 on the bracket 5 and hold the bottom of the pole 4: against shifting laterally. The bracket 5 is also provided with a pair of guiding-lugs 1 1, which assist in centering the bottom of the pole when the same is being placed in position. A movable head 15 is slidably mounted on the pole 4 and is providedwith grooved rollers 16, adapted to engage opposite sides of the pole 4 andprevent tilting of the head, while at the same time permitting of the free movement of the head along the pole. The head is also provided with suitable straps 17 and 18, extending around the pole opposite to the rollers 16 and assisting in holding the head in position. The head 15 is supported .by a cord 19, which passes over a sheave 20,

journaled on the cap 9.

The pole 4 is provided near its lower end with a collar 21, which is loosely mountedon the pole and secured against movement longitudinally of the pole by means of a plurality of flat-sided nails 22. The collar 21 has at one side of the same a pair of depending prongs 23, adapted to engage a knot in the cord 19 for securing the head 15 in a certain desired position. v

The head 15 is substantially semicircular in form and is provided with a plurality of radially-disposed apertures 21 for receiving the drier-arms and holding the same in substantially radial positions. The front of the head 15 is inclined at the sides of the apertures 24 and forms a supporting-ledge 25, extending along the bottoms of the apertures 24. Each of the apertures 24: is provided with a drierarm 26, which has a loop or staple of wire 27 encircling the ledge for securing the arms to the head. The arms in their extended position bear between the top of the head and the ledge 25, as shown in Fig. 3, and the staple 27 is suitably located and of suitable shape to permit the inner ends of the arms to be withdrawn outwardly sufiiciently to clear the front edge 28 of the top and permitting the arm to swing down, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A

The operation of the device shown is as fol lows: When the device is first fitted to the room, the bracket 5 is located so that the pole 4: may be freely passed between the top of the ridge 13 of the bracket and the ceiling, when the cap 9 is screwed down to a point near the lower part of the member 8, no other fitting being required.

When the device is to be setup, the pole is turned with a sheave toward the front away from the wall, the cap 9 is placed against the ceiling at a point directly over the ridge 13 of the bracket 5, and the lower end of the pole is swung inward until it rests against the guides 14. The pole is now raised to bring the bearing-surface 10 into contact with the ceiling and then is turned in left-handed rotation until the bottom of the pole has become securely seated over the ridge 13. The spurs 11 enter the woodwork or plaster of the ceiling and prevent the cap 9 from rotating with the pole. The arms 26 are then secured in their outward positions for supporting the clothes, and the head may be drawn upward by the cord 19 and secured in its upper position through the engagement of the prongs 23 with a suitably-located knot on the cord. The cord may have another knot correspondingly located for a certain desirable lower position of the head.

When the device is to be taken down, it is merely necessary to pull the arms outwardly and allow them to hang in their depending position and then rotate the pole 1 sutficiently to release its lower end from the ridge 13, when the bottom of the pole may be swung outward and the cap withdrawn from engagement with the ceiling. It will be seen that the pole may be taken down without unfastening the cord 19 from its engagement with the prongs 23, thus avoiding the necessity of the operators holding the cord for supporting the head 15 during the operation of taking down the device. After the device is taken down the free ends of the arms 26 may be tied together by the free end of the cord 19 and the device is ready for being stored away.

It will be seen that some of the details of the construction shown may be altered without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A clothes-drier comprising a pole having an annular depression in its lower end, a bracket for supporting the lower end of the pole and having an annular ridge fitting said depression, a cap threaded on the upper end of said pole and adapted when engaging the ceiling to permit said pole to be rotated relatively thereof for moving the lower end of the pole into or out of engagement with the bracket, and drier-arms mounted on the pole, substantially as described.

2. A clothes drier comprising a pole, a bracket having a seat for retaining the lower end of the pole, a cap threaded on the upper end of the pole and adapted to engage the ceiling for securing the upper end of the pole, said cap being adapted to permit the pole to be raised and lowered relatively of its seat through the rotation of the pole, suitable guides on said bracket for guiding the pole toward its seat, and drier-arms mounted on the pole, substantially as described.

3. A clothes drier comprising a pole, a bracket supporting the lower end of the pole, a cap for engaging the ceiling at the upper end of the pole, and adapted through the rotation of the pole to move along the pole for clamping the same between said bracket and ceiling, a head carrying drier-arms and slidably mounted on the pole, a sheave on said cap and a cord passing over said sheave and adapted for raising and lowering the head along the pole, and a collar rotatably mounted on the pole, secured against longitudinal movement, and having thereon a pair of depending prongs for engaging a knot on said cord, substantially as described.

4:. A clothes-drier comprising a pole, a supporting-bracket having a seat for retaining the lower end of the pole, a ferrule fitting the upper end of the pole, and secured against movement thereon, the outer surface of said ferrule being threaded, a cap having threaded engagement with the ferrule and being adapted to engage the ceiling for securing the upper end of the pole, said cap being adapted to move along the ferrule through the rotation of the pole for clamping the pole between the bracket and ceiling, and drier-arms on the pole, substantially as described.

Signed at Chicago this 14th day of June, 

